Cooler door for use in an offset door opening

ABSTRACT

A cooler door for use in an offset door opening formed of a front cover having a top rail, a bottom rail and side rails secured to the back of the corresponding portions of the front cover. Channels are mounted to the top and side rails and extend rearwardly thereof. A back cover, having smaller dimensions than the front cover, is located rearwardly of the front cover. Flanges extending forwardly of the back cover bear against limbs of the channels. Closures, located outwardly of the flanges and channels and rearwardly of the rails, are fastened to the flanges, the channels and the rails to hold the door rigidly in assembled position.

Appl. No.: 292,553

United States Patent 1 [111 Lingle Oct. 30, 1973 COOLER DOOR FOR USE IN AN OFFSET DOOR OPENING Primary Examiner-Kenneth Downey [76] Inventor: Cleo M. Lingle, 100 Linco Road, Atmmey D' Paul weaver et Henderson, Tex. 57 ABSTRACT 22 Filed: Sept. 27, 1972 l A cooler door for use in an offset door opening formed of a front cover having a top rail, a bottom rail and side rails secured to the back of the corresponding portions of the. front cover. Channels are mounted to the top and side rails and extend rearwardly thereof. A back cover, having smaller dimensions than the front cover, is located rearwardly of the front cover. Flanges extending forwardly of the back cover bear against limbs of the channels. Closures, located outwardly of the flanges and channels and rearwardly of the rails, are fastened to the flanges, the channels and the rails to hold the door rigidly in assembled position.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDDBI 30 um SHEET 2 BF 3 "NWT FIG. 3

PATENTEU URI 3 0 I973 3.768.206 SHEET 3 OF 3 FIG. 4

FIG. .5

COOLER DOOR FOR USE IN AN OFFSET DOOR OPENING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION tively small and large width opening portions that are separated by shoulders.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a door that will. retain the advantages of the door of my aforementioned patent and yet has the capability of being used in an offset door opening.

The door is formed of a front cover to whose rear are secured a top rail, a bottom rail and side rails that extend inwardly of the corresponding portions of the cover. Channels are mounted to and extend rearwardly of the top rail and each of the side rails. A back cover, having smaller dimensions than the front cover, is located rearwardly of the front cover and has flanges that extend forwardly of its top and sides. The channels, rails and flanges are secured to each other'by being anchored to closures which act to retain the components of the door in assembled relation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the various components of the door;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the door; FIG. 3 is a section taken along the line 33 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2 showing the door mounted in a door opening; and

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a corner of the door taken approximately along the line 5- 5 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 3,'the front of the door is atthe left and the back of the door is at the right. Directions extending from the back toward the front of the door will be designated as forward," and directions extending from the front of the door toward the back of the door will be designated as rearward.

The door includes a planar rectangular exterior metal front cover that has integral flanges 12 extending rearwardly of the plane of the front cover along the peripheral edges of the front cover. The rear ends of the flanges 12 have flange extensions 14 extending inwardly of the flanges 12 parallel to the cover 10 to thereby form sockets. Rectangular top and bottom end rails 16 are nested within the sockets formed at the top and bottom of the cover. 10 and rectangular side rails 18 are nested within the sockets formed along the 'sides of the cover 10. The nested end rails 16 and side rails 18 are secured to the cover 10 by nails.

Reference number 20 designates side channels that each comprise a flat base 22, a pair of limbs 24 extend ing inwardly of the opposite ends of the base 22, and a pair of divergent wings 26 extending away from the inner ends of the limbs 24 in planes parallel to the base 22. Each side channel 20 is so nailed to a side rail 18 that a wing 26 and a limb 24 bear against the side rail and the base 22 and the other wing 26 and limb 24 extend away from the side rail.

Reference number 28 represents a top channel having a flat base 30, limbs 32 and wings 34 similarly constructed to the corresponding portions of the channels 20. The channel 28 is so nailed to the top end rail 16 that a wing 34 and a limb 32 bear against the end rail and the base 30 and the other wing 34 and limb 32 extend away from the end rail.

Reference number 36 represents a generally L- shaped bottom angle having a base 38, a bottom upright limb portion 40 extending upwardly of the front side of the base and a top upright limb portion 42 that is generally parallel to but offset forwardly of the bottom limb portion 40. The bottom angle 36 is so nailed to the bottom end rail 16 by the top limb portion 42 that the bottom limb portion 40 is spaced from the bottom end rail 16 and the base 38 is substantially parallel to the bottom of the bottom end rail 16.

Tie plates 42 are secured at spaced vertical intervals to the channel limbs 24 that bear against the side rail 18 and extend inwardly of the side rails. Center rails 44 are secured to the tie plates 42 between the tie plates and the cover 10 so as to extend horizontally across the door between the channel wings'26 that bear against the side rails 18 at spaced vertical intervals. The center rails 44 serve to maintain perfect parallelism between the side channels 20 and the side rails 18, to strengthen the front cover 10 and to mount hardware for the door that is described below.

Before securing the center rails 44 to the plates 42, corner gussets 46 are fastened to the top channel 30 and the side cahnnels 20 at the juncture of these channels.

Reference number 48 designates a rectangular back cover of the door that is of smaller dimensions than the front cover 10. The back door cover 48 is rectangular and has a planar face 49 and a top flange 50, a bottom flange 52, and side flanges 54 extending forwardly of the face 49. A flange extension 56 extends upwardly of the front end flange 50; flange extensions 58 extend laterally outwardly of the front ends of the flanges 54; and a flange extension 60 extends upwardly of the front end of the flange 52.

Reference number 62 designates a U-shaped channel having a base 64 and a pair of legs 66 upstanding from opposite ends of the base 64. The channel 62 is anchored to the back door cover 48 by screwing the flange extension 60 to a rear one of the flanges 66.

A reinforcing wooden block 68 is mounted to straddle the side flanges 54. The block 68 mounts interior hardware release mechanism of the door that is not shown.

The back portion of the door, formed of the assemblage of the back cover 48 and the channel 62 is mounted to the front portion of the door formed of the front cover 10, the end rails 16, the side rails 18, the side channels 20, the top channel 28, the bottom angle 36, the center rails 44 and the gussets 46 by slipping the front of the legs 66 of the channel 62 upwardly into the space between the bottom limb portion 40 of the bottom angle 36 and the bottom end rail 16. At this time, the side flanges 54 of the back door cover 48 bear against the side channels 20 with the flange extensions 58 bearing against the rear ones of the limbs 24 and the flanges 54 bearing against the rear ones of the wings 26. Also, at this time, the top flange 50 of the back door cover 48 bears against the top channel 28 with the flange extensions 56 bearing against the back one of the limbs 32 and the flange 50 bearing against the back one of the wings 34. This mounting of the front and back door portions provides for a finished door with a flat, warp resistant bottom which can receive a wiper gasket that seals the bottom of the door in such a manner as to guarantee a straight, tight, well secure seal.

Reference numbers 68 and 70 respectively designate side and top closures for the door that are generally Z- shaped in cross-section. The side closures 68 are placed rearwardly of the flange extensions 58 of the side flanges 54 and outwardly of the bases 22 of the side channels 20 and are secured to the door by fasteners, such as rivets 72 (FIG. that extend through and secure the side closures 68, the flange extensions 58 and the rear limbs 24 of the side channels 20. The top closure 70 is placed rearwardly of the flange extension 56 of the flange 50 and outwardly of the base 30 of the top channel 28 and is secured to the door by fasteners, such as the rivets 72, that extend through and secure the top closures 70, the flange extensions 56 and the rear limbs 32 of the top channel 28.

Reference number 74 represents a resilient gasket that extends about the top and sides of the door. The gasket 74 includes a base portion 76 that is inserted along the sides and top of the door between the side closures 68 and the top closures 70 and the flange extensions 14 of the flange 12. The gasket bases 76 are secured to the door by fasteners that extend through the side closures 68, the gasket bases 76, the flange extension 14 and the side rails 18, and by fasteners that extend through the top closures 70, the gasket bases 76, the flange extensions 14 and the upper end rail 16. The gasket 74 has a head portion 78 that extends outwardly of the gasket base 68 and bears against the flange extensions 14 outwardly of the closures 68 and 70. The gasket, when assembled to the door, forms a tight, rigid, moisture resistant unit.

Any hairline cracks which are exposed in the door at the junction of the various parts are soldered shut to provide a clean, rugged and water tight joint to the entire door perimeter. After this, the door is set in a conventional press and the hollow interior of the door is filled with insulation, such as foamed-in-place urethane insulation 80 that is injected through holes, not shown, in the door bottom. After the insulation has been injected, the holes are plugged in a conventional manner.

The door is intended to be mounted in an offset door opening 82 having relatively large and small width opening portions that are separated by shoulders 84 and having shoulders 86 separating the larger width opening from the outside wall 88 of the door opening. A lock 90 and a hinge plate 92 are mounted to one or several of the center rails 44. The lock 90 is cooperative with a lug 96 mounted to the frame of the door opening 82 and the hinge plate 92 is pivoted to a hinge 96 mounted to the door opening frame.

When the door is in its closed position, as indicated in FIG. 4, the closures 68 and 70 are opposite the shoulders 84 and the gasket heads 78 are bearing against the wall 88 to seal the top and sides of the door. At least one wiper gasket 98 (FIG. 3) may be mounted to the bottom of the door to provide a seal between the door bottom and the floor as, for example, by mounting the wiper gasket between the channel 62 and the bottom flange 52.

I claim:

1. A cooler door for use in an offset door opening comprising: a front cover; a top rail, a bottom rail and side rails extending inwardly of the periphery of the corresponding portioons of the front cover and secured to the front cover; a channel mounted to the top rail and each of said side rails, each channel including a base extending rearwardly of its associated rail and a limb extending inwardly of the rear end of its associated base; a back cover, having smaller dimensions than the front cover, located rearwardly of the front cover; a flange extending forwardly of the top and sides of the back cover; flange extensions extending outwardly of the fronts of the flanges, said flange extensions being located rearwardly of and bearing against their associated limbs; closure means located rearwardly of their associated flange extensions, outwardly of their associated channel bases, and rearwardly of their associated rails; first fastener means securing the closure means to their associated flange extensions and limbs; and second fastener means securing the closure means to their associated rails.

2. The door of claim 1 further comprising: a gasket having a base interposed between said closure means and its associated rail, said second fastener means securing said gasket base between the closure means and the rails; and a head on said gasket that projects rearwardly of the closure means.

3. The door of claim 1 wherein said cover has from cover flanges extending rearwardly of its periphery and front cover flange extensions extending inwardly of the rear ends of the front cover flanges to thereby form sockets in which said rails are received; wherein said closure means are located rearwardly of said front cover flange extensions; and wherein said second fastener means secure the closure means to said front cover flange extensions.

4. The door of claim 3 further comprising: a gasket having a base interposed between said closure means and its associated front cover flange extension, said second fastener means securing said gasket base between the closure means and the front cover flange extensions; and a head on said gasket that projects rearwardly of the closure means.

5. The door of claim 1 further comprising: a bottom angle member having top upright limb portion that is secured to the rear of the bottom rail and a bottom upright limb portion that is rearwardly offset from the top upright limb portion and is spaced from the rear of the bottom rail; a bottom channel secured to and extending forwardly of the bottom of said back cover; and a leg extending upwardly of the front of the bottom channel between the rear of the bottom rail and the bottom upright limb portion.

6. The door of claim 5 wherein a bottom flange extends forwardly of the bottom of said back cover; and

the bottom channel is secured to the bottom flange. 

1. A cooler door for use in an offset door opening comprising: a front cover; a top rail, a bottom rail and side rails extending inwardly of the periphery of the corresponding portions of the front cover and secured to the front cover; a channel mounted to the top rail and each of said side rails, each channel including a base extending rearwardly of its associated rail and a limb extending inwardly of the rear end of its associated base; a back cover, having smaller dimensions than the front cover, located rearwardly of the front cover; a flange extending forwardly of the top and sides of the back cover; flange extensions extending outwardly of the fronts of the flanges, said flange extensions being located rearwardly of and bearing against their associated limbs; closure means located rearwardly of their associated flange extensions, outwardly of their assOciated channel bases, and rearwardly of their associated rails; first fastener means securing the closure means to their associated flange extensions and limbs; and second fastener means securing the closure means to their associated rails.
 2. The door of claim 1 further comprising: a gasket having a base interposed between said closure means and its associated rail, said second fastener means securing said gasket base between the closure means and the rails; and a head on said gasket that projects rearwardly of the closure means.
 3. The door of claim 1 wherein said cover has front cover flanges extending rearwardly of its periphery and front cover flange extensions extending inwardly of the rear ends of the front cover flanges to thereby form sockets in which said rails are received; wherein said closure means are located rearwardly of said front cover flange extensions; and wherein said second fastener means secure the closure means to said front cover flange extensions.
 4. The door of claim 3 further comprising: a gasket having a base interposed between said closure means and its associated front cover flange extension, said second fastener means securing said gasket base between the closure means and the front cover flange extensions; and a head on said gasket that projects rearwardly of the closure means.
 5. The door of claim 1 further comprising: a bottom angle member having top upright limb portion that is secured to the rear of the bottom rail and a bottom upright limb portion that is rearwardly offset from the top upright limb portion and is spaced from the rear of the bottom rail; a bottom channel secured to and extending forwardly of the bottom of said back cover; and a leg extending upwardly of the front of the bottom channel between the rear of the bottom rail and the bottom upright limb portion.
 6. The door of claim 5 wherein a bottom flange extends forwardly of the bottom of said back cover; and the bottom channel is secured to the bottom flange. 